SINGAPORE: A recent study by the Ministry of Health revealed that about 4.5 per cent of the population, or approximately 189,000 people, carry the Thalassaemia gene.

Thalassaemia is an inherited condition - a disorder in the production of haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells.

Most who carry Thalassaemia genes have a form of the condition called Thalassaemia minor, which is not life-threatening, unlike Thalassaemia Major.

The implication for Thalassaemia Minor patients is that if both parents are carriers of the gene, their children have a higher possibility of being born with Thalassaemia Major.

A Thalassaemia patient usually develops severe anaemia by a few months of age. Frequent blood transfusions are required to relieve the symptoms. Another side effect is iron overload, which can cause serious problems such as heart failure, liver disorder and joint pain.

Singapore's National Thalassaemia Registry was set up in 1992 to screen family members of Thalassaemia carriers and to provide counselling for those who carry the genes.

So far, nearly 19,000 people have been screened, with around 2,000 screened for the Thalassaemia gene in 2007.

The registry also screens and counsels family members of persons suffering from Thalassaemia.

Prenatal diagnosis testing services are also available for pregnant women.

Those interested to find out more about the genetic disorder can attend the International Thalassaemia Conference, which runs till Saturday, at the Suntec City Convention Centre. - CNA/vm